STANFORD, Calif. – A career-first clinching point from Sameer Kumar pushed 16th-seeded Stanford past Michigan 4-1 in the NCAA second round to send the Cardinal to its second consecutive appearance in the round of 16.
The Cardinal (18-8) prevailed in doubles, but only after a fight to the finish with UM winning at No. 2 before Brandon Sutter and David Wilczynski answered 6-4 at No. 3. The point came down to a tiebreak at No. 1 that Tom Fawcett and Yale Goldberg battled through to give Stanford the 1-0 lead.
"Today was exciting collegiate tennis," said Taube Director of Men's Tennis Paul Goldstein. "TNT might think they know drama, but collegiate tennis is where the real drama is, which today's match showed. Credit to Michigan, they brought excitement throughout the match, but the team today showed poise. They continued to pick each other up - Yale alone saved two match points in a doubles point that could have gone either way and they never batted an eye in a match that involved a lot of nerves and tension."
Sutter and Fawcett stepped up for the Cardinal on singles, with both grabbing straight-set wins at Nos. 5 and 1 to put Stanford on the cusp 3-0. The Wolverines (23-7) never quit, winning two first sets in the tiebreak and forcing Kumar to three sets at No. 2.
UM finally battled onto the scoreboard with a win at six before Michigan's Alex Knight pushed the battle at No. 2 to the brink, sending it to the fourth tiebreak of the day. The Cardinal sophomore remained composed throughout as Knight kept knotting the tiebreak before finally closing the match with a 6-0, 3-6, 7-6 (6) win.
"I'm extremely happy for the team," added Goldstein. "I'm absolutely their number one fan and they've showed a lot of growth not only today, but this entire season."
The Cardinal will travel this week as it sets to take on No. 1 Wake Forest in the NCAA round of 16. The match is set for Thursday at 4 p.m. PT at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, Georgia.
No. 16 Stanford 4, No. 17 Michigan 1
DOUBLES
1) No. 54 Fawcett/Yale Goldberg (STAN) d. No. 29 Connor Johnston/Malik (MICH) 7-6 (5)
2) Hua/Knight (MICH) d. Genender/Kumar (STAN) 6-3
3) Sutter/Wilczynski (STAN) d. Schalet/Wong (MICH) 6-4
Order of Finish: 2, 3, 1
SINGLES
1) No. 11 Tom Fawcett (STAN) d. No. 72 Jathan Malik (MICH) 6-4, 6-4
2) Sameer Kumar (STAN) d. No. 86 Alex Knight (MICH) 6-0, 3-6, 7-6 (6)
3) Myles Schalet (MICH) led David Wilczynski (STAN) 7-6 (4), 2-6, 1-0, abandoned
4) Runhao Hua (MICH) led Michael Genender (STAN) 7-6 (5), 1-6, 2-1, abandoned
5) Brandon Sutter (STAN) d. Kevin Wong (MICH) 6-2, 6-4
6) Carter Lin (MICH) d. William Genesen (STAN) 6-4, 6-2
Order of Finish: 5, 1, 6, 2
